Antoine Tamboloni, Administrative and Financial Director of Châteauform’, European leader in residential and non-residential seminars (€300 million in revenue, 2,200 employees) – is a master of financial management. Recently named Gold Laureate for Financial Direction, Best Talent Management at the 2025 Finance Leaders Summit, organized by Décideurs Corporate Finance, he reflects on the collaboration between Althéa and Châteauform’ in selecting their new EPM solution.
“After COVID, we observed the limitations of our processes. For example, it was difficult to produce reliable data on payroll monitoring. With very diverse activities – events, mobile catering, restaurants, services operated in company offices, an integrated event agency, and a language training center – Châteauform’ needed an agile solution capable of aggregating data from multi-business units.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
Châteauform’ therefore took the time to consider the best way to approach this project: precisely identifying their needs, putting their ideas down on paper, and also benefiting from an expert external perspective capable of challenging their choices and supporting them in this transformation.
A partnership built on trust and high standards
Châteauform’ chose to rely on a consulting firm to frame this selection process and benefit from high-level support. Several firms were approached, and we had the pleasure of being selected to carry out this strategic mission.
“What motivated our choice? The relationship with Garri Goldberg, Director of Finance, Procurement and Operations, and the desire to have a partner capable of challenging us without being confined to an editor or integrator ecosystem.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
“Antoine Tamboloni was a true sponsor of the project. We felt a great closeness with him and his teams. His professionalism and commitment are invaluable, reflecting Châteauform’s strong values, particularly in terms of social and environmental responsibility.” Garri Goldberg, Director of Finance Procurement Operations
A structured approach, in several key stages
Together, Châteauform’ and Althéa defined several stages:
- Discovery: immersion in Châteauform’s history, culture, and challenges.
- Clarification of needs: defining essentials, avoiding overly complex systems.
- Drafting of specifications with a precise retroplanning.
- Mapping of publishers, with a progressive filter (from 10 to 3, then 2), live demonstrations with scoring, involving financial management and IT.
- Price negotiation: impartial comparative analysis of offers.
These stages were conducted with rigor:
“Althéa’s metronome allowed us to stay on course without ever deviating. We wanted to start early 2025, and we met our objective.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
A precise selection process: the keys to shared success
When asked “What are the success factors of this project?”, Antoine Tamboloni identifies three major pillars:
- First, internal mobilization and involvement: management controllers, IT, business departments… with clear alignment to engage stakeholders in the project.
- Althéa’s independence from publishers, guaranteeing objectivity in the selection support.
- Adherence to the six-month project timeline, without delays.
“Althéa’s teams took the reins with pragmatism, responsiveness, and a true spirit of collaboration.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
Concrete benefits, measurable outcomes
- Time and organizational gains with a solid and clear set of specifications.
- A trusted investment that gives us a 5-year vision of costs and scope.
- Full buy-in from operational teams for the approach (with stakeholders who would not have been identified otherwise).
“We chose with confidence, brought in the right people, conducted a thorough benchmark, and selected a solution perfectly suited to our needs.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
Châteauform’s advice for a successful project
To help other companies facing similar challenges, Antoine Tamboloni shares his experience:
- Take the time to properly frame the project before any decision.
- Continue to challenge solutions, even those that seem obvious.
- Involve all stakeholders to avoid silos.
- Compare, clarify, contract, to avoid unpleasant surprises.
“A very valuable point: once the specifications were finalized, Althéa took charge of all exchanges with publishers and integrators. This saved us precious time while meeting our requirements.” Antoine Tamboloni, CFO Châteauform’
A value-creating collaboration
Châteauform’ and Althéa have built a relationship based on trust, high standards, and transparency.
Althéa played a strategic metronome role, an operational facilitator, and a guarantor of objectivity, to propose an EPM solution adapted to Châteauform’. We are very proud of this value-creating partnership and thank Mr. Tamboloni for his time and answers.
